SEE ALL PEOPLE KNOW JESUS帶領萬民認識耶穌

*****make minor note on fasting.

Romans 10:13–17 CSB

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

Romans 10:13–17 CNVT

因為「凡求告主名的，都必得救。」 然而，人還沒有信他，怎能求告他呢？沒有聽見他，怎能信他呢？沒有人傳揚，怎能聽見呢？如果沒有蒙差遣，怎能傳揚呢？如經上所記：「那些傳美事報喜訊的人，他們的腳蹤多麼美！」但並不是所有的人都順從福音，因為以賽亞說：「主啊，我們所傳的，有誰信呢？」可見信心是從所聽的道來的，所聽的道是藉著基督的話來的。

Intro: Create Tension that sermon will answer

I remember back in 2009 when Allison and I had our first child, Hannah Grace. Some of you in this room were actually there for that:) You know with your first child everyone tries and tells you how it’s going to be. You watch all the “breathing exercise” videos(super awkward!) But going to the hospital on May 10, 2009, I thought that my job was going to be pretty easy. Allison would get to the hospital the nurses would take over then boom out comes a perfect little baby. If I just said a few encouraging words the rest would be taken care of. We got to the hospital and before we were admitted into a room, we were sitting there and we heard this lady start screaming loudly, in serious pain, and Allison looked over at me, 1st kid remember, eyes really wide and big, and I remember saying “Oh, don’t worry, that’s not going to happen to you...” I’m not sure if was the first loud scream or the second loud scream, or the grabbing of my hands, but I soon realized that I had a lot more to do in this birthing process than just sitting back and relaxing. Now I didn’t give birth, let me make that clear, before all the moms in the room roll their eyes at me, I understand I didn’t do the heavy lifting but my part was much more involved and I had a bigger role to play, with encouraging, with massaging, all the details I won’t get into. And I think sometimes when we talk about evangelism, about an individual coming to faith in Christ, the church sometimes has the same mindset I had before I walked into that delivery room. God takes care of it all, I don’t need to do anything! But in the passage above, Paul makes a very clear case that I want to put before all of us this afternoon, that:

Big Idea: the process of an individual coming to KNOW Jesus as Lord, is a co-laboring, a partnership between God and His People. Between God and US.

Sub Introduction(Context: overall series context as well)

This week we are beginning our vision series. If you are new here, welcome. This is going to be a great start for you. Over the next few weeks we are going to break down our mission as a church, “to see all people know, love, and follow Jesus”. This week we are going to be covering “know”. At this point in the book of Romans, Paul is showing the church in Rome that both Jew and Gentile are accepted before God by faith, and nothing else. In chapter 10, Paul has reached this climax where he begins to lay out his desire for his people, Israel to be saved, and how all people will be saved if they call upon the name of Jesus. We will pick it up in verse 13.

The Role of the Church教會的角色

There Is A Promise to the church

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”

The word “call” here, you want to circle that in your bible, because this word to “call” means to appeal to. So what Paul is saying that everyone who CALLS ON JESUS TO SAVE THEM, everyone who cries out to Christ for salvation will be saved. What is Paul explaining here? Important doctrine of salvation is by faith alone.

HOWEVER and this is where we are going to spend the rest of our time, Paul is going to describe this process, what happens what are the chain of events in your life, and in other’s lives for them to call upon the Lord?

There Is A Need For The Church(How can they call they have not believed in?)

When I first read this, I thought, why is this backwards? Don’t they call and then they believe? Why does Paul say that faith first comes then a person calls out to Christ? Paul says that before anyone calls and appeals to Jesus they must first BELIEVE that He is who He says He is. Right no one is going to call on Jesus to save them unless they believe that He is a Savior.

Here’s where you come in. “How can they believe without hearing about him?”

This is the great need that the church is meant to be all about. This is why our mission is to see “all people KNOW Jesus”. When we talk about “knowing Jesus” what we mean is that we want to see all people in Linkou, New Taipei, City, Taiwan and beyond, have as many opportunities to hear about the good news of Jesus. Paul says that how can someone believe and call on Christ unless they hear?

There was a Japanese soldier who continued fighting and hiding 29 years after WW2 was over? True story. This man and a couple of other soldiers were sent to the Philippines, and for 29 years, they hid, fought, and lived as though the war was not over, as if victory had not already been won. Japan made every attempt at finding this man and his friends and tell them the news that the war was over and they could come home. It took them 29 years to do it! As hard to imagine as that is, did you know that every single day, we look out at the streets, we see our neighbors and 2000 years later after victory has already been won through Christ, we see people living and dying without hearing about that good news!

This is Paul’s point, how will they believe unless they hear! How are Taiwanese going to turn from Guan Yin and from Buddhism unless they hear something better? Unless they see the power of the Gospel?Hearing is necessary to faith.

There Is The Call Of The Church

So Paul says, church, how will they hear unless someone “proclaims”.

That word preach, or preacher is a verb, and it means to proclaim. When we look at the NT we see:

John the baptist did it施洗約翰

In Mark, Jesus commands all His disciples to do it馬可福音

In the book of Acts, you see the church doing it, at the temple, at the marketplace, in homes, all places, everywhere.使徒行卷的教會，到處都去了

Apostles doing it, Jesus doing it, disciples doing it, and everyday believers doing it.使徒，耶穌，和一般的門徒

My point? The call to proclaim the Gospel is not a call for a select group of people. It’s not just for the pastors or missionaries, but it is a call for every believer in Christ.

Jesus’ last words, “Go and make disciples” should be our first priority as a church.(say that again)

Proclaim the Gospel. Now there is a phrase that has been misused over time and it’s this: “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary” But Paul says here: it is impossible for someone to come to faith just simply by you living a Gospel life. Our lives might attract people, that give weight and witness to the Gospel, which we all should do, but NO ONE CAN CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD UNLESS WE PROCLAIM, unless we use our words and share the powerful message of Jesus.

I love Taiwanese tea. It’s by far my hobby. IF you come to my house you can see. What if I wanted you to enjoy tea as much as I do? So every time we were together, I drank tea, I had my tea cups out, I would drink with loud sipping noises, hoping that by just doing those things, you would come to love tea as much as me. What are the chances of that happening? Pretty slim. I would need to explain and tell and share about why tea is important to me, what happens when I drink it and why you should too!

Here’s my fear. That we would spend so much time doing good things like serving people well, loving people well, building community well, that we see non christians become involved, become a part, sitting next to us while we enjoy Jesus, but never repent and believe in Jesus. I’ve been guilty of this and I’ve seen it, and I think churches are full of people who have found community, but haven’t found or trusted in Jesus. He must be proclaimed.

Be gracious because LANGUAGE BARRIER. So yes serving and loving is a great place to start

Acts 8:31 CSB

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Acts 8:31 CNVT

他說：「沒有人指導我，怎能明白呢？」於是請腓利上車，同他坐在一起。

How many people are here right now in Taiwan that the Spirit of God has already began to open their eyes and they are waiting for you to explain and proclaim good news?

The Role of The Father天父的做工

God Is The Sender(how can they preach unless they are sent)

Paul is showing us here that process of salvation begins with the Sending of the Father. He brings it all the way back to God Himself sending His church, so all people would KNOW JESUS.

I want us to stop and think about this. We’ve talked about this many times, but the more I study scripture, the more I meditate on the Gospel, the more I see how uniquely different God the Father is than all the other gods and worldviews. Paul says that God has not only sent His Son, but now has sent His Church by the power of His Spirit into all places so people can KNOW JESUS. I hope you see a picture of a loving God who is pursuing people to KNOW Him. He is not a statue in a temple, an idol on a shelf, a mute deity who does nothing, but He is the God who seeks and saves, who pursues, and sends. God the Father has sent you and I. We really need to see this, because why this is important for you and for me, is that this reminds us that salvation is ultimately a work of God. That God is for church planting more than we are, that God desires your neighbors to know Him more than you do, that God is for us! If God is for us than who can be against us?!

Evangelism and Church Planting are beautiful in the sight of the Lord. Let’s be honest, not everyone thinks this do they? But what the bible calls good and beautiful, let’s call good and beautiful.

(“timely” like in full bloom). It’s a picture a flower in full bloom. When the church is engaged in evangelism in church planting, the church is at it’s best.(say that again)

We are sent to do this together. Jesus always sent His disciples in pairs or in groups, never alone. We will talk more about this later. But when you look at the book of Acts individual evangelism isn’t the model we see. In fact, the only times Paul is by himself is when he is in prison or suffering. He is always with someone or taking someone along. We do this together.(this is happening). I would strongly encourage you, the bible would encourage you that if you are just doing ministry by yourself, or isolated, the bible would call you to take someone along with you, or go with someone. Local church.

KIDS AND STUDENTS, story about Ethan Stoner bible study?

Gospel Saturation. Okay this part is really important, because this part of sending is where we get to the main point of application for this week. When we first planted the church Rich, our other elder, had an illustration that I think really captured what we want to see happen in Taiwan. A lot of you are going to know it as soon as I say it. Taiwan has the most 7-11’s per capita worldwide. You can even go to the mountains of Taiwan and really 鄉下 places and you know what is there? A Family mart or 7-11. What if we see that kind of saturation, that kind of presence with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That people couldn’t go to the mountains without hearing the name of Jesus, that on every street, in every city, the name of Jesus, the reputation of Jesus, was everywhere. That local churches would be spread over Taiwan just like 7-11’s. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

We will finish working through the text with 16-17 and I just want to make one big point.

The Responsibility of the Hearer聽著的責任

(Not all have obeyed)

Story of Steve Timmis walking from door to door in one day like 45 people came to Christ!This is not usual. Paul is saying that even though we are sent, even though we preach, even though people hear, they still have to respond with obedience. We can not make them do that. That’s perspective we need to have. Can’t FORCE PEOPLE. We need to LOVE PEOPLE, we can’t FORCE THEM. HUGE

The Power of the Gospel福音的力量

Paul says there is no other way a person is saved except through the Gospel. Faith to call on Jesus as Savior comes from hearing the good news of Jesus.

This should be so comforting to you. So comforting and gives us confidence(Pride vs Despair) Not about us, Gospel(if they don’t listen, it’s the Gospel they are rejecting:disobeyed, if they do, we don’t pat ourselves on the back but give glory to God! How many of us don’t share the gospel because we think we will fail? Well be comforted! Yet how many of us share the Gospel because we think we have to prove ourselves to God? It’s not about us! God is the sender, and He is the Savior.

God is not only the sender but He is also the Savior. He does the sending and the saving.

Why is this important? It is easy to resort to other things when we don’t think the Gospel is working. Like Events, or cool messages or series, but the Bible is very clear, although those things can be helpful, the only way a person is coming to faith is through the proclaimed word of the Gospel. That means that in every ministry we do, in all that we do as a church through worship, through the preaching, we endeavor to see that the Gospel is in the forefront. It has got to be the foundation for everything we do.

Illustration: How many famers stop sewing seeds just because some of the seeds didn’t produces? Don’t farmers know that it’s the seed, the soil, and the weather, that all effect the seed producing? In every revival, in every move of God that has taken place in history, one of the common threads has been abundant seed sewing. Believing in the power of the Gospel.

That brings us to where CityLight comes in:

THE ROLE OF CITYLIGHT城市之光的角色

Include stats of Linkou(thanks Mark)

2018 to 2020 .Linkou increased 5107 households

population increase 11998.

There is a need, you have a role, while God does the work.

3 Levels Of Gospel Saturation(All People Know)

ChurchPlanting建立教會

Tim Keller says that “The continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for 1) the numerical growth of the body of Christ in any city, and 2) the revival of the existing churches in a city. Nothing else—not crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, nothing else, will have the consistent impact of church planting. It is not even controversial.” “建立新教會眾是以下最佳策略：1）任何城市中教會的數量增長，以及2）城市中現有教會的複興.沒有爭議。

If we look at the book of Acts people are either a part of a local church, being sent out by the local church, or planting other local churches. Not that para church ministries aren’t important, but they are not the local church. Our main goal is to partner with other ministries but ultimately for the goal of planting new local churches.

Two reactions: too slow, or too fast. It’s kinda like marriage, you are never really perfectly ready to get married, but you do it, trusting that you will grow as you make that commitment. And we believe that if we wait as a church until we think we are ready, we will never plant a church. So we are doing our best to walk in step with the Spirit and follow His leading. But as we’ve seen, it’s not a question of ‘if’ the bible has already made that clear, it’s a question of how and when.

Going Forward: This involves all of you. At some point you will either be a part of sending or going. We will, by Gods grace, see churches planted out of CityLight. Your leadership in the next month are going to get together, and begin to lay out some concrete goals and plans to work towards this plan of not only supporting church planting, but CityLight planting churches.

Acts 29建立教會的聯網 www.acts29.com

GC’s小組

Gospel Communities are our main vehicle for evangelism at CityLight. I love hear stories of how people have come to GCs and aren’t christians yet, but have not just heard the Gospel, but have seen the Gospel demonstrated in community. Our vision is that as GC’s continue to multiply throughout Linkou and into Guishan and Taoyuan, that one of these could become a church plant in a new area.

If you are not a part of a Gospel Community you are going to miss out on 75% of who CityLight is. I encourage you find one of our leaders get plugged into a GC and become a part of declaring and demonstrating the Gospel together in community.

Some of you might come and ask, well how does the church do evangelism our answer: Gospel Communities, “how does the church do community” “Gospel Communities. It is the heartbeat of our church. Thankful for the men and women who lead these groups.

Personal Evangelism傳福音

(not individual, but personal)

Include stories here Mark, basketball, Cafe, GC caroling(Christmas Sunday), school teachers, class parties, coaching at events, work places. ALL PEOPLE KNOW. People will listen to you and go to your house before they walk into a church. IMPORTANT

CONCLUSION

One basketball player I liked to watch growing up was a guy named Robert Horry. Robert actually was a part of winning 7 NBA championships. That’s more than Kobe, that’s more than Michael Jordan. But no one talks about him because during all the years he played in the NBA he only averaged 4 points a game. That’s it. He wasn’t the star, he didn’t do most of the scoring, but he contributed and was a part of 7 championship teams! That’s how I view our role at CityLight. We just want to be a part of God’s victorious good news transforming and changing this nation and the world. And whether we plant 1 church or 100 churches, the point isn’t how much we do, the point is that we get to be a part of what GOD IS DOING!

CALL PEOPLE TO RESPOND.